Sermon Cloud

A Proper Perspective on Affliction

Hebrews 12:2-4

Grace Fellowship Church

November 17, 2008

Series 3 Sermon 62

 

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

 

Introduction

We have as Americans a very strange mindset.  This mindset has been given to us as we have grown more and more accustomed to comfort and ease.  But the majority of the world today and the majority of the people who have ever lived know absolutely nothing of this mindset.  Practically everything that can be difficult is done for us.  We go to the grocery store and we buy our vegetables already planted, grown, and cut for us.  We buy our meat already butchered. We never even see the animal it comes from.  We drive to the store in usually air conditioned vehicles. If we are smart we can even crank them before we go out of our air conditioned houses and the only discomfort we feel is the walk from the house to the car.  We then drive to where ever we are going on cushioned seats with smooth suspensions so that the worst bump we feel really amounts to very little.  Some of us even sit on leather seats as we go. 

 

We sleep on comfortable beds and we sit in comfortable chairs.  Probably the least comfortable chair you will sit in all week is here at church.  If we are hungry we simply go to our refrigerator or kitchen pantry and we find something to snack on.  If there is nothing there we get back in our car and we drive to the store.  If we have a craving for a certain type of food we can get that by simply driving through a restaurant.  There is so much comfort and convenience in our society that we take for granted that most people live this way when the fact of the matter is most people don’t nor will they ever and no one who lived in the United States have ever lived this way before the last 50 or 60 years. 

 

So its no wonder when we get to passages like Hebrews 12 it all seems foreign to us.  And the reason it seems foreign to us is because it is.  God in His providence has allowed us to live in this place and in this time for a reason.  He could have had any of us born at another time and in another place but He did not.  So birthed from this comfortable lifestyle has been some really bad theology and understanding of the ways of God.  You have all heard it before.  Our popular theology of the day tells us that if we simply do the will of God then He will shower blessings on us in abundance as if He needs to keep rewarding us for being on His side.  If you just have enough faith then you will be blessed with abundance.  You can drive a Rolls Royce, live in a mansion, wear Armani suits, have a Rolex or ten, and even the really faithful can have a private jet to shuttle themselves here to and yonder all of course to tell other Americans how healthy and wealthy they have become through faith of course.  We get books written about how to live a healthy and wealthy lifestyle and these books tell us if we don’t have everything in abundance its because of our lack of faith. 

 

I want to ask some of these folks, who I am sure are well meaning, if they have ever read the New Testament.  Let me just go through some things that I have heard preachers who are supposed to be preaching the Gospel say.  Here is one.  “People need to see that Christians are blessed by God.  If they see we are wealthy then they will want to be a Christian also.  No one is attracted to Christ by a poor Christian.”  Sounds logical enough until you read 1 Timothy 6:8-12.

⁸ If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
¹¹ But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

 

Or how many times have you heard the devil rebuked because someone is sick or they are suffering or have lost their job all because they are Christians?  Then we read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:10.

¹⁰ "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

I have said this before in this series on Hebrews but it really bears repeating. It seems that we live in an age where everything is turned upside down.  Right is wrong and wrong is right and we live in a society without a moral center.  Most people in our nation have the attitude that if something is right for them then it is okay no matter what.  So as that societal attitude bleeds over into the church, the church has taken on the same characteristics. 

 

In many places in the world today and in most places in the world in history suffering is and was a normal part of life.  Life was difficult.  There was hunger and sickness and you worked many hours everyday in order to scrape out a living and feed your family.  You grew your own food and raised your own animals.  And you learned endurance. 

 

We on the other hand are spoiled.  When difficulty comes our way we are often shocked. We are often disturbed by it and we can’t understand why our Lord would allow us to endure such terrible things.  The rest of the world view the momentary ease and comfort as a great blessing from the Lord we view the momentary afflictions as punishment from the Lord precisely because we have so much comfort.  The problem is with our perspective.

 

Typically when affliction comes our way we become more focused on ourselves.  But this is not what the Christian should be focusing on.  Hebrews 12 gives us what we are to focus on in times of affliction.  I want you to look at verse 3 with me and especially the first word. 

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

 

The word consider in verse three is an imperative verb.  Therefore we are commanded to do this.  Who are we to consider?  We are to consider him.  Him of course is the Lord Jesus Christ.  But what does it mean to consider Him? 

 

The word for consider is the imperative form of the verb analogitzomai which sounds a lot like our word analyze.  And that really is its meaning.  When you analyze something you are paying particular attention to it.  You are considering very carefully or you are thinking through what you are analyzing. 

 

Tom and I got the chickens in yesterday that we are raising.  Last week we built a brooder for them and we had to pay attention to all that the chicks need to survive.  They need food and water which is easy enough but also the temperature in the brooder has to be maintained.  If it’s too cold then they will die and likewise if it’s too hot.  So the chicks have to be considered so we are paying close attention to them. 

 

And what we are to do in times of affliction is to not focus on ourselves but rather to focus on our Lord.  You see by focusing on ourselves all we focus on is the pain and temporary discomfort that we are having to endure.  We are not focusing on the true realities that we are going to discover in Hebrews 12. 

 

One in Scripture that was greatly afflicted was the Apostle Paul.  Immediately after his conversion the Lord showed all that he must suffer for the sake of the Gospel.  He was beaten and stoned, left for dead.  He went hungry and with not enough clothing.  He was shipwrecked and many of those who set out with him on his missionary journeys abandoned him.  But he had the right perspective on his afflictions.  Listen to Romans 8:18.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   

 

This is what we need to consider today and in the future.  This is truth you can dig your fingernails into and hold onto in times of affliction.  And if you are here on earth you will endure affliction.  The question is not whether you will face affliction but whether or not you will face affliction in a way that honors the Lord. 

 

What we are going to learn in Hebrews 12 is that the Lord uses the affliction in our lives to accomplish some very important things in our Christian life.  The most important thing is our sanctification or our becoming more and more like Christ.  I want you to look at verse 4. 

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

And so in this struggle against sin which is the killing of our flesh so that we can live holy lives the Lord uses discipline to bring this about.  The problem that we have is that most of us have been told our whole Christian lives that if we live correctly then we will have smooth sailing in this life.  But this is pie in the sky Christianity that has absolutely nothing to do with what Scripture teaches.  Look at verses 5 through 8.

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

 

So why was this affliction coming down on this first century church?  It was the discipline of the Lord.  Why does affliction come upon us?  It is the discipline of the Lord.  Now don’t misunderstand this passage.  There are different types of discipline. There is the discipline that is indeed punishment but there is also the discipline that is training.  The technical terms are formative discipline and corrective discipline and the Lord does both to His children.  We see this in verse 6.  Look at it again.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

 

Parents we do this with our children.  Clean your room is discipline and when they refuse to clean their room then they are chastised. 

 

But all of this discipline from the Lord will indeed result in something wonderful.  I want you to see the outcome of this discipline in verse 11.

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Now look at verse 14.

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Let me summarize it this way.  If you are not afflicted by the Lord then you are not His child.  If you are His child then the affliction that comes upon you will result in righteousness and personal holiness without which the Bible says no one will see the Lord or you are not really saved. 

 

So how are we to handle this affliction?  How are we to walk through what could be as bad as the valley of the shadow of death and honor the Lord in our journey?  Go back to verse 3. 

We are to consider Him.  Now what are we to consider?

 

PNP

From our text this morning, Hebrews 12:2-4, I want you to see three truths about the Lord Jesus Christ that we are to consider when enduring affliction. 

 

1.  We are to consider that Jesus is the exemplar of our faith.

2.  We are to consider that Jesus endured greater affliction than us.

3.  We are to consider Jesus’ present position.

 

Purpose

My purpose for preaching this passage is so we all can walk through affliction and adversity in a way that both contributes to our sanctification and brings glory to God.

 

RPNP

So look with me at these three truths about the Lord Jesus Christ that we are to consider when enduring affliction. 

 

1.  We are to consider that Jesus is the exemplar of our faith.

We see in verse three that we are to consider or pay close attention to the Lord Jesus Christ.  The reason we need to do this is because affliction will cause us to be what we don’t need to be.  Look at verse 3 with me.

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.   

The imagery is that of an athlete who has dropped out of the race before the finish line.  Like we saw last week we are on this marathon of faith and the course is set before us and we are called to finish the course.  And for that we need endurance. 

 

This leads us to our first point.  So when the affliction comes and we think we can not go on under our present affliction what do we do?  Here in verse 3 we are commanded to consider our Lord Jesus Christ and the first truth I want you to consider this morning is that the Lord Jesus is the exemplar of our faith.  Look at verse 2. 

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,

Notice the word “founder” in the text.  Now keep in mind that this group was having to endure afflictions and suffering.  So what kind of encouragement would this be that the Jesus is the founder of the faith?  Look back at Hebrews 2:9-11.

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.

 

The encouragement is this.  If the founder was perfected through what He suffered then it goes without saying that we the followers of the founder would be perfected through what we suffer as well.  So we need to look to Christ in the time of affliction because not only is He the founder of our faith He is also the perfecter.  Look at verse 2 again. 

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,

That word, perfect, that should be very familiar to us by now in our study is used to describe the Lord Jesus whom we are to consider.  He is the founder and perfecter of our faith.  It is Christ who has led the exemplary life.  It is He through affliction endured faithfully and fully to the end.  It is He who has endured the painful and shameful death on the cross and we can say unequivocally that He is the founder and perfecter of the faith. 

And we are called to not only consider Him but also to follow Him.  Listen to Luke 14:27.

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

So those who would follow the Lord Jesus must also be willing to follow Him in His sufferings and affliction.  And we can only and will only do this when the Lord Jesus Christ has become that pearl of great price that we are willing to part with all our earthly possessions to possess. 

 

See this is where the problem is in the church today.  The church today desires a salvation without discipleship.  The church today wants comfort and ease now and Heaven later.  They want to be so comfortable in the world that Heaven is not at anytime on their mind other than singing about some mythical mansion that is supposedly awaiting them just over the hillside. 

 

But real discipleship that is required and is a result of true salvation is a self denying, world denying, comfort and ease forsaking faith that understands that the greatest prize that we can have is to be face to face with our Savior and the Lord has stated that in order to have that prize then we must take up our cross and follow Him.  And that meant then and still means now that we endure affliction.  Puritan John Trapp said, ‘God had one Son without sin, but no sons without affliction.’

 

So as we unfold Hebrews 12 I want you to keep in mind that this affliction is for our good and that we must remember in times of affliction to consider the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Consider Him.  Analyze Him.  Focus on Him in times of affliction and know that when you are faced with trial and temptation and with suffering that the Lord of glory is sanctifying you and preparing you for Heaven.

 

We are to consider that Jesus is the exemplar of our faith. 

Second I want you to see that:

 

2.  We are to consider that Jesus endured greater affliction than us.

Look at verse 2 with me again. 

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,

Here is the comparison.  Is what you are going through any comparison with what Christ endured on the cross and before the cross?  Keep this in mind.  It was He who knew no sin that became sin so that we might be the righteousness of God in Him.  Now look at verse 3.

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,

When we suffer affliction and even persecution we can not compare that exactly with what Christ endured.  Here is God in human flesh, fully human and fully divine, perfectly righteous and holy, without the stain of sin and He endured such hostility from reprobates. 

 

There really is no analogy here.  We can’t even get close to this.  To understand the hostility that He endured from sinners on our behalf is more than amazing.  The Lord of glory having his face slapped by the filthy hand of a wretched sinner.  Or being mocked by the reprobate soldiers as they bowed to Him in jest.  Or having His beard pulled out and a crown of thorns placed on His sinless head.  Then being nailed to a cross to die a criminals death. 

 

When we understand the suffering of Christ in light of His perfection we can not begin to even think that somehow we are mistreated in our own afflictions.  After all because of our own sin we deserve death and hell and all the mistreatments that we can have.  But by Christ’s sufferings we have been given God’s grace because His wrath has been poured out on His Son who bore our shame and sin on the cross.

 

So when you are afflicted not only are we to consider Christ as the exemplar of our faith we are also to consider that His sufferings were far greater than any sufferings we might endure on this earth.  And we do have verse 4.  Look at it with me.

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Now keep in mind that the ones the writer is speaking to had their property plundered, their friends thrown into prison and many other things happen to them.  But their endurance in the marathon of faith had not brought about the shedding of their own blood yet. 

 

So we as a people can not complain of our afflictions when we consider what our first century brethren endured and then ultimately what Christ endured Himself.  There is no comparison. 

 

So finally look with me at the third truth to consider.     

 

3.  We are to consider Jesus’ present position.

Look at verse 2 with me again. 

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

The Lord endured the cross, He despised the shameful way of death and did so for the joy that was set before Him.  That joy is now in His position.  Notice in verse 2 that He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Listen to Hebrews 1:3.

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Listen to Hebrews 8:1-2.

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.    

 

Listen to Hebrews 10:12-14.

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

 

So what does it mean for us who are either enduring affliction now or will in the future that Christ is at the right hand of God?  What kind of comfort can we draw from that truth this morning?  Understanding Christ’s present position is very important.  Look back at verse 2. 

and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The verb for “is seated” is a perfect active verb.  That simply means that now that Christ has been seated at the right hand of God that is where He is going to stay.  His position is an eternal one.  It is a secure position that is not going to change.  So what does that mean for us?  It means that if you are in Christ then positionally you are seated with Christ. 

 

I want you to listen to Ephesians 2:1-7.

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.(What Paul is saying is that the only thing that separates you from the rest of the world and its impending judgment is a five letter word, GRACE.)  4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  

 

Here is our benefit.  If we are in Christ and we are suffering affliction we have access to the throne of God because we are positionally already seated with Christ at the throne of God.  You see, if you are not in Christ then you have no access to God.  Unconverted sinners have no access to the Father.  They may pray these prayers in time of desperation but they mean nothing because if they are not in Christ they are in Adam and Adam without Christ has no access to the Throne of Grace.

 

What we must consider in times of affliction is the position that Christ is in and therefore we are positionally in as well.  If Christ is our head then we must go to Him in time of need and trial.  If Christ is at the right hand of God then He has full access to the Father and because we are positionally in Him He is our mediator to the Father. 

 

This is why we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is not some kind of magical formula for getting our wishes granted.  We pray in the name of Christ because without Christ we have no access to God. 

 

So what do we do with all this information?  How does the rubber meet the road?  What happens when we are afflicted beyond our ability to endure? 

Look at verse 3 again.

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

The command is to consider Christ so that we do not grow weary or fainthearted. 

In our considering what do we need to do?  Because He is the exemplar of faith and He endured greater affliction than any of us and He is seated at the right hand of God, then we must in time of need and distress go to Him. 

 

Not only is He the exemplar of our faith He is also the sustainer of our faith as well and when the times are tough and the heat is on He is our shelter and our rock. 

 

Listen to Psalm 91:1-6.

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" ³ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. ⁴ He will cover you with His pinions,  And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. ⁵ You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; ⁶ Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

 

And what should be a very familiar passage from Hebrews is our ultimate admonition in times of affliction.  Listen to Hebrews 4:14-16.

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Let’s pray.